Tunisia, 1996

Allow me first of all to convey to Mr. Razali Ismail my

sincere and heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of his

election to the presidency of the fifty-first session of the

General Assembly. I am convinced that thanks to his wise

and able leadership and his extensive experience in the field

of international relations, the proceedings of our session

will be successful.

Malaysia’s presidency of the General Assembly is

clear testimony to the respect that Mr. Razali’s country

enjoys within the international community, which

appreciates the great and efficient role played by Malaysia

at the regional and international levels in order to

strengthen and consolidate relations among nations on the

basis of peace, justice and cooperation. I take this

opportunity to pay tribute to the excellent relations of

friendship and fruitful cooperation that exist between our

two countries.

I should like also to convey my sincere thanks to

Mr. Razali’s predecessor, Mr. Freitas do Amaral, for his

valuable efforts during his presidency of the fiftieth session

of the General Assembly. I wish to mention in particular

his contribution to helping advance the process of reform of

the United Nations, in order to make it more efficient in the

light of the changes the world is witnessing.

I should like also to pay tribute to Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali and to convey to him our appreciation and

support for his continued selfless dedication as head of the

Secretariat of the United Nations. My delegation also

appreciates his courageous initiatives, especially his Special

Initiative for Africa, as well as his constructive proposals

within the Agenda for Peace and the Agenda for

Development. Tunisia, which supports the renewal of

Mr. Boutros-Ghali’s mandate, stresses the importance of

continuing the reform process undertaken in recent years.

With the end of the cold war, the international

community has entered a new era of international

relations that aims to reject the use of force and violence

as a means of settling conflicts, and to put an end to the

arms race. This trend favours the logic of wisdom and

moderation by resorting to peaceful means and preventive

diplomacy, which offer possibilities for dialogue,

concertation and negotiation to resolve conflicts, disputes

and crises, however complex they may be.

We welcome this emerging trend in international

relations, which is a consecration of the principles and

purposes of the United Nations as enunciated in its

Charter. This trend must be strengthened and consolidated

in order to eliminate sources of tension and defuse

conflicts before they break out.

The international community welcomed with

enthusiasm the start of the peace process in the Middle

East. This raised hopes of seeing the parties arrive at a

true, comprehensive, just and honourable peace, thus

putting an end to a cruel conflict that has lasted for

almost half a century, during which time the peoples of

the region have experienced the horrors of war,

destruction, exodus and occupation. This peace settlement

should be based on international law and United Nations

resolutions, in particular Security Council resolutions 242

(1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978), and on the principle

of the exchange of land for peace.

The Madrid Conference and the ensuing intensive

negotiations, which resulted in the Oslo, Washington and

Cairo agreements, led us to believe that the new peace

process was finally on the right track. However, the

agenda of the new Israeli Government has dashed the

hopes of the peoples of the region. This agenda has

indeed blocked the peace process on all tracks. An

increase in Israeli pressures and provocations, which aim

ultimately at imposing the policy of the fait accompli, has

hindered the Palestinian people’s progress towards

achieving their legitimate right to self-determination and

to create their own independent State.

The bloody events triggered by the opening of a

tunnel under the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa emphasize the

need for decisive international action to bring the Israeli

Government to abide by the agreements concluded with

the Palestinian Authority and to comply with international

law regarding the settlement of the question of Palestine.

14

Tunisia is concerned by the stagnation of the peace

process and its negative effects on building the future of the

region on the basis of peace, security, stability and

cooperation among its peoples. Tunisia considers that Israel

must re-evaluate its present policy and commit itself to

respecting the principles of the peace process and to

implementing the agreements already signed.

We also call upon the international community,

particularly the sponsors of the peace process, to spare no

effort in facilitating the resumption of the peace

negotiations as soon as possible in order to avoid any risk

of failure, which could affect the credibility of this process

and lead to the return of confrontation and the escalation of

violence, extremism and terrorism. We believe that

confidence-building, good faith and a sincere commitment

to a peaceful solution are necessary to advance this process.

The commitment of all parties to achieving a just,

comprehensive and lasting peace is essential to ensuring the

security and stability of the States of the region as well as

the coexistence of their peoples.

As stated by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on

many occasions, Tunisia is committed to following the

same approach it has taken since the beginning of the peace

process, by establishing a close link between each step

towards normalization and the progress achieved by the

negotiations on all tracks.

The establishment of peace in the Middle East depends

on the maintenance of security and stability in the Gulf

region. Tunisia, which is deeply concerned by recent

developments in that region, calls upon all parties to show

restraint, avoid any escalation and remain committed to

international legality and to the implementation of all

United Nations resolutions. Tunisia also reiterates its

commitment to respect the sovereignty of all States in the

region as well as their territorial integrity and inviolability.

We also call for an end to the suffering that the Iraqi

people have been experiencing for several years, and we

hope that recent developments in the region will not

aggravate this situation.

Tunisia believes that the time has come to lift the

embargo imposed on the Libyan people in view of the

numerous positive initiatives taken by Libya, the League of

Arab States and the Organization of African Unity, all of

which aim at reaching a peaceful and just solution and at

putting an end to the suffering of the brotherly Libyan

people within the framework of international legality.

Devoted to peace and a staunch supporter of just

causes, Tunisia reiterates its solidarity with the United

Arab Emirates and its full support for that country’s

endeavour to recover through peaceful means, which

include appealing to the International Court of Justice, the

islands of Great Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

Turning to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Tunisia expresses its satisfaction at the return of peace to

this country, and hopes that the recent elections will mark

the beginning of a new era in which concord,

understanding and common action will prevail, thus

allowing the establishment of the foundations of the

Bosnian State.

We note that today the international community is

giving priority to disarmament as the best means of

ensuring and consolidating international security.

Considerable progress has been made in this regard,

especially in the area of controlling the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction, in particular chemical and

nuclear weapons.

Tunisia welcomes the adoption by the General

Assembly of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

and its opening for signature. We hope that all Member

States will adhere to this Treaty, in order to ensure its

universal application. The Treaty’s conclusion, as well as

the anticipated strengthening of the Biological Weapons

Convention, due to be reviewed soon in order to provide

it with a verification mechanism, will no doubt

consolidate the progress made thus far in the field of

disarmament.

While expressing our appreciation for the declaration

of Africa as a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, we hope that

our continent will be relieved of all weapons of mass

destruction. We also reiterate our call to free the Middle

East from all nuclear weapons and weapons of mass

destruction.

While emphasizing the necessity of introducing

efficient measures for ensuring a total ban of weapons of

mass destruction, we believe that it is also essential to

tackle the issue of conventional weapons, particularly the

question of the accumulation and illegal trade in light

weapons. This problem is not only serious but is growing

more so every day, since these are the most commonly

used weapons in current conflicts and recent terrorist

operations.

15

In addition to its contribution to disarmament efforts,

Tunisia has always supported United Nations peacekeeping

efforts around the world. From the early 1960s on, it has

taken part in United Nations operations in many African

countries, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and

elsewhere.

Convinced of the importance of these operations in

maintaining international peace and security, Tunisia called

on member States of the Organization of African Unity

(OAU) to create special units within their armed forces for

participation when necessary in peacekeeping operations on

the African continent.

While welcoming the decision of the United Nations

on establishing a system of standby forces to act to

intervene rapidly and efficiently in peacekeeping operations,

Tunisia solemnly declares its readiness today to participate

in that system, thus confirming our commitment to the

Organization and to its role in the maintenance of world

peace and security.

Intolerance, racism, organized crime, the illegal arms

and drug trades, the illegal traffic in human beings,

terrorism and extremism in all its forms are all phenomena

that have taken on a transnational dimension. The

international community should ensure that appropriate

solutions are found by means of a global approach based on

the definition and implementation of international

cooperation strategies in order to contain and eradicate

these scourges.

On many occasions and before various international

and regional forums, my country has called the international

community’s attention to the dangers of re-emergent

terrorism and extremism, which threaten the stability and

security of States as well as the safety of individuals. In

this vein, Tunisia called for the conduct of a comprehensive

and thorough re-evaluation of the attitudes of all parties to

these scourges through the establishment of international

rules of conduct with the aim of fighting all illegal

activities, particularly those related to terrorism, in order to

find efficient and lasting remedies to these problems and to

eliminate their deep-rooted causes.

Tunisia notes with satisfaction the increasing

awareness of the need for the international community to

join efforts in order to fight terrorism. We hope that the

United Nations will adopt mandatory measures that would

address this phenomenon by criminalizing all terrorist acts.

We also hope that all member States will revise and adapt

their relevant legislation to these measures.

Tunisia’s steadfast efforts to consolidate the

foundations of the country’s political institutions and the

rule of law and to promote and protect human rights in

their global dimension flow from a civilized, irreversible

choice made in accordance with universal values.

Eager to ensure respect for human dignity and to

encourage ongoing development efforts to secure the

well-being of all citizens, Tunisia has been able to

reconcile, in a balanced manner, economic growth with

the preservation of political, economic and social rights,

the requisite foundations of democracy.

Tunisia will continue to advance the causes of

human rights in the world and to support the United

Nations Voluntary Fund for technical assistance in the

field of human rights, as well as the Programme of

Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights

Education.

We are persuaded that the dissemination of the

culture of human rights will come to fruition only with

the promotion of tolerance, which is an essential civilized

value upon which are based all religions and human-rights

ideals.

Tunisia placed particular emphasis on tolerance in

the reform of its education system, since it is convinced

that global change, the progress of civilization and

culture, as well as economic and social growth, will be

firmly established only when coming generations are

well-prepared and when the values of peace, democracy

and goodness are complemented by a culture of tolerance.

Economic globalization has opened new perspectives

for international cooperation for development. But it has

also had a negative impact on the economies of numerous

developing countries that have been swept up in it

without adequately preparing their economic and social

structures.

In the new era, Tunisia has focused on setting up a

comprehensive and multidimensional development

strategy designed to assist the disadvantaged in society

and based on a broadened concept of human rights.

Tunisia’s policy in this regard was based on a

development approach aimed at providing equal

opportunities to all levels of society and ensuring the

well-being of all its citizens.

The human dimension for which Tunisia has opted

in defining its development policies has led to a deeper

16

spirit of solidarity within the population towards the

underprivileged and vulnerable sectors and to granting them

the highest priority. In order to achieve these objectives,

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali took the initiative of

establishing an anti-poverty programme — the National

Solidarity Fund — aimed at eradicating pockets of poverty

and ensuring harmonious development for all social sectors.

The debt burden in the third world is a very serious

problem that cannot be overlooked, since it constitutes the

main obstacle to their efforts to achieve a regular

development pattern, free from any shortcomings or failure.

While we welcome the Group of Seven’s economic

communiqué on the issue of debt, we also stress the need

to take appropriate measures to alleviate the debt burden of

middle-income countries.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

and the World Trade Organization should implement the

commitments undertaken by the international community in

the framework of the major conferences held during the

past five years. To this end, they need to mobilize the

resources required to fund the programmes adopted by

these conferences in the quest for sustainable development.

We welcome the process of reform initiated by the

United Nations with the aim of adjusting to the emerging

international environment, improving its functions and

assuming its responsibilities as the institution best able to

maintain peace and security, on the one hand, and to pursue

and support efforts on behalf of the economic and social

development of the developing countries, on the other.

To this end, it is equally important to continue the

process of reform of the Organization with the aim of

rationalizing and strengthening its role as the central pillar

of international cooperation for achieving objectives and

implementing programmes agreed upon by the international

community, on the basis of priorities set by Governments

seeking to eradicate poverty and to support employment and

housing programmes, as well as those that provide basic

services in the education and health sectors and offer

protection to women, children and the socially

underprivileged.

These objectives can be attained only through the use

of jointly agreed criteria based on transparency and

democracy in international relations, and by rejecting any

policy that involves a double standard.

In order to preserve the prestige and credibility of the

United Nations, it is necessary to implement the resolutions

the Organization adopts and to follow up on the

commitments entered into by States.

We would also like to underline the extreme

importance we attach to the restructuring of the Security

Council, so as to enable this eminent body to play its key

role in the maintenance of international peace and

security, while taking into consideration the need for an

equitable geographical representation based on new geo-

political realities. I should like to recall in this respect that

Tunisia supports granting Japan and Germany the status

of permanent members of the Security Council, owing to

the political and economic standing of both countries.

In accordance with the consensus reached at the

thirtieth Organization of African Unity summit meeting,

held in Tunis, we reaffirm Africa’s right to at least two

permanent seats on the Security Council that would rotate

among all African States.

Tunisia supports any initiative that takes into account

these principles, and it expresses its appreciation for the

initiatives and ideas presented by some States, in

particular friendly neighbouring Italy, in order to achieve

a comprehensive vision regarding reform of the Security

Council.

Finally, we believe that the success of our

Organization depends on the determination of all Member

States to act in conformity with the purposes and

principles set out in the Charter, as well as on sincere

political will, in order to allow our Organization to fulfil

the aspirations and hopes of our peoples, who provide it

the indispensable support it needs to guarantee its

continued vitality, its renewed capacity and its durability.